Question for the People Playing 4 Piece Drum Sets- Sizes

I started with 12, 15, 20, but soon evolved into 10,15, 20 for more tonal spread between the toms. My current setup is 5x10, 12x15, 12x20, with a 7x12 snare.
 
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Hey Chunkaway. These my two kits. I do not use my twelves on either kit.

Sonor, Force3005, 20-B, 10-T, 14-FT, 14-S

Sonor, Ascent, 20-B, 10-T, 14-FT, 14-S

Nice interval and tone between drums.
 
I'm playing 10, 13, 16, 13s right now and really enjoying it. Though, in all honesty... I'm a 2 and 3pc guy. I just set up the rack tom for fun since my drums have been at home for a few months.
 
tfgretsch said:
MY 4pc sizes: SN 14x6.5, RT 12x8 FT 16x16 BD16x22 if i am limited for space i use my Getch cat club kit.
sn like little deeper sound &fatter feel ,toms like the sound of my 9x13,but 12x8 projects better,FT&BD like alittle more low end
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It is interesting To see so many people playing smaller bass drums. I have been torn a bit with playing 20” bass drums exclusively. I love the ability to position my tom and cymbal lower, and the ease of transport is a definite plus.

The lack of Low end thump is something I’m struggling with. I picked up a vintage Rogers that has a fantastic 20” bass drum, but I still miss the Low end of a 22”.
 
24/13/16 has been my preferred set up for the past eight years.

I purchased a shell pack just to have options for different bass drums (20/22/24), rack toms (12/13) and floor toms (14/16). My last Yamaha kit from the 90's was a downsize from a prior late 70's monster kit to a 22/10/13/16 through experimentation. After dinking around on my newest kit I discovered I preferred the larger 24" bass drum for tone and grew to prefer the 13" over the 12" rack. Everything went bigger including cymbals. I just added an 18" floor tom to the mix recently so full disclosure it's officially 24/13/16/18 now, but save that for a different thread.
 
I'm also a 13/16/24 guy. Sonically, I like the exaggerated dynamic range because it records well, easy to self balance, and fun to noodle with. I like the size cause it feels like my first Bigwheels when I was five. I love it in conjunction with oversized cymbals (15/18/20/24).

The only drawback to the 13/16/24 with big pies is that other drummers kits often feel comically small when I sit behind them, like Gulliver's Travels. Sit me on a bop kit and I'll probably break into a performance of the Lollipop Guild's fanfare.
 
Chunkaway said:
It is interesting To see so many people playing smaller bass drums. I have been torn a bit with playing 20” bass drums exclusively. I love the ability to position my tom and cymbal lower, and the ease of transport is a definite plus.

The lack of Low end thump is something I’m struggling with. I picked up a vintage Rogers that has a fantastic 20” bass drum, but I still miss the Low end of a 22”.
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I started with 22, went down to 20, then went down to 18, and now am on my third 16 (I also had a 28 somewhere in there) and I can tell you from first hand experience that the size doesn't dictate the 'thump'. My pearl midtown 16 with an emad and ported reso has more 'thump' then any bass drum I've ever owned regardless of size and it's by far the loudest bass drum under 20 I've ever played.
 
Chunkaway said:
It is interesting To see so many people playing smaller bass drums. I have been torn a bit with playing 20” bass drums exclusively. I love the ability to position my tom and cymbal lower, and the ease of transport is a definite plus.

The lack of Low end thump is something I’m struggling with. I picked up a vintage Rogers that has a fantastic 20” bass drum, but I still miss the Low end of a 22”.
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Yep i know what you mean Chunk, i have an 18 " BD on my Gretsch club kit and i miss the deep low end. But i need the smaller kit for smaller gig spaces and i'm getting older and need to scale down where i can, Its a compromise. i have an evans 1ply emad batter with ported reso, and that helped alot on my 18",, you may want to try that on your 20 "
 
roncadillac said:
I started with 22, went down to 20, then went down to 18, and now am on my third 16 (I also had a 28 somewhere in there) and I can tell you from first hand experience that the size doesn't dictate the 'thump'. My pearl midtown 16 with an emad and ported reso has more 'thump' then any bass drum I've ever owned regardless of size and it's by far the loudest bass drum under 20 I've ever played.
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Interesting. Do you ever find yourself missing the low end boom that you get with larger bass drums?
 
Chunkaway said:
Interesting. Do you ever find yourself missing the low end boom that you get with larger bass drums?
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With my both my Tama single head 16s and my Ludwig Breakbeats 16... Absolutely, quite frequently.

With my pearl midtown 16... Absolutely not! That thing pumps! The shell is ever so slightly undersized which allows the heads to float more freely (similar to a gong bass in principal) and when combined with the additional resonance of the riser I find an extreme boost in low end and thump that I never found in any other 16 nor most other bass drums I've ever owned regardless of size.

The 10" tom is kinda 'boingy' and boring but every other aspect of the pearl midtown kit is mind blowing. I've never had such a deep punch bass drum nor resonant floor tom from any other kit I've owned.
 
Chunkaway said:
It is interesting To see so many people playing smaller bass drums. I have been torn a bit with playing 20” bass drums exclusively. I love the ability to position my tom and cymbal lower, and the ease of transport is a definite plus.

The lack of Low end thump is something I’m struggling with. I picked up a vintage Rogers that has a fantastic 20” bass drum, but I still miss the Low end of a 22”.
Click to expand...
My favorite arrangement is a 10/13/16/20. If I want to play a 4 piece, I go without the 10" tom. I grew up with a vintage Ludwig 14x20" bass drum, but I played in small venues in high school/college with no amplification, so the thump was good for the venue.

Today, my DW has a 16x20" bass drum. The extra 2" seems to give me almost the same low-end of a vintage 14x22". And to be honest, my Gretsch set with a 14x20" also has very good low thump. The Gretsch set doesn't have reinforcement rings, though, and the rerings tend to force the pitch higher.

Does your Rogers have rerings?
 
Warrenwood said:
My favorite arrangement is a 10/13/16/20. If I want to play a 4 piece, I go without the 10" tom. I grew up with a vintage Ludwig 14x20" bass drum, but I played in small venues in high school/college with no amplification, so the thump was good for the venue.

Today, my DW has a 16x20" bass drum. The extra 2" seems to give me almost the same low-end of a vintage 14x22". And to be honest, my Gretsch set with a 14x20" also has very good low thump. The Gretsch set doesn't have reinforcement rings, though, and the rerings tend to force the pitch higher.

Does your Rogers have rerings?
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Which model gretsch bd do you have Warren ?
 
hauk said:
When I finally upgraded, I went with 20x14, 12x8, 16x14. The smaller bass (down from 16" depth too) is much easier to transport and configure, and sounds great. I get the same 12/16 tom range I've grown to love.

I never understood why people would pair 12/16 with 22 but not 20. The other somewhat unusual choice is the short floor tom, which I like because it keeps the bottom head higher off the ground.
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Totally agree, I play 12x8, 16x14, 20x16 and love the versatility. The 20 thumps just as well as a 22 and far easier to lug around. Rack Tom can be positioned lowered too.
 
Another thing with small bass drums, if you are playing a loud bar/club with guitars blaring, bass rumbling, and cymbals crashing... It doesn't matter if you have a 16, a 20, or a 26. You'll probably need a mic.
 
Warrenwood said:
My favorite arrangement is a 10/13/16/20. If I want to play a 4 piece, I go without the 10" tom. I grew up with a vintage Ludwig 14x20" bass drum, but I played in small venues in high school/college with no amplification, so the thump was good for the venue.

Today, my DW has a 16x20" bass drum. The extra 2" seems to give me almost the same low-end of a vintage 14x22". And to be honest, my Gretsch set with a 14x20" also has very good low thump. The Gretsch set doesn't have reinforcement rings, though, and the rerings tend to force the pitch higher.

Does your Rogers have rerings?
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Yep, the Rogers has re-rings. Does that make a difference?
 
My 2 main kits at the moment are a Tama Starclassic birch bubinga 12-16-22 and an old, beat to hell Premier XPK 13-16-22 that my wife bought me for Christmas to fix up. I definitely prefer the 13-16 tom pairing over the 12-16, although I’ve found I can pretty much get the 12-16 tom interval I want with proper head choice and tuning. I really like this Premier kit; once I get it fixed up it may become my go-to live rig.
 
Chunkaway said:
Yep, the Rogers has re-rings. Does that make a difference?
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I hoping some others will more expertise will chime in, but my understand is the rings reduce the shell's vibration and direct more energy to the head, thereby increasing the frequency. On smaller bass drums this reduces the low thump.
 
Right now my one kit is 22/16/12/snare. I am working on a 22/13/10/snare. I will use the same bass drum in both setups. Peace and goodwill.
 
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